First Mech Keyboard, Gigabyte Osmium?

[pauldemonkey]

Hey everyone,

     I'm looking into buying my first mechanical keyboard and was wondering if anyone has tried out the new gigabyte osmium. I have seen it mentioned on here, but only as coming soon. As it stands right now its out of stock on newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823334013&Tpk=gigabyte%20osmium
I definitely want my keyboard to have backlighting and at least a few macro keys and media keys. As far as the switch is concerned I am considering red and browns. That being said, what do you guys think of the keyboard, and do you have any other suggestions for a different board?

[IvanIvanovich]

Seems to kind of be an update of the GK-K8000 from a few years ago... how odd. It wasn't a popular board at all. Kind of surprised they are trying it again.
Not that I am a fan of either at all, but if I HAD to have macro keys, the CMStorm Trigger and Razer Black Widow at least have them in a better location usability wise.

[Lethal Squirrel]

I'm going to have to agree with lysol on the trigger. I would stay away from the Blackwidow if I was you. I've had bad experiences with that board, and it just feels cheap imo. you should also probably stay away from the corsair boards. Welcome to geekhack btw!

[Christown]

If you want backlighting there are limited options, if you want macro keys there is even less options. I'm not sure on the Gigabyte board but it doesn't look too good of quality, probably similar to the blackwidow.

That being said, good luck with choosing your first mech and welcome to the forums.

[cuckeverlasting]

Ducky has a series of backlit Cherry MX keyboards that are worth looking into. I can't comment on build quality but they look much nicer than a Deck or a Blackwidow.

[pauldemonkey]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. The CM trigger seems like a pretty decent keyboard and even has a rubberized feel that the gigabyte does not. I have heard that a ducky is built really well, it just doesnt have any macro keys. Placement isn't and issue for the macro keys though because im not using them for any MMOs. If there is software out there that would let me remap my function keys to run macros i could do that instead, does anyone know if this exists?

[Lethal Squirrel]

Actually cuckeverlasting, The deck keyboards have very, very good build quality. Probably better than Ducky. They are quite pricey though. The blackwidow however, total crap! (for a mechanical) xD

[pauldemonkey]

just looked at the deck keyboards, maybe a bit too pricey for me...

[Lethal Squirrel]

My final thoughts. If you want a backlit keyboard, and think you can manage with macro software, rather than buttons, get the ducky.
If you want a backlit keyboard with macro keys, get the trigger.

If I had to choose, I would sacrifice the macro functionality for quality, and get ducky.

[pauldemonkey]

Kind of what i was thinking, thanks for your input.

[Harlequin]

I'm going to have to agree with lysol on the trigger. I would stay away from the Blackwidow if I was you. I've had bad experiences with that board, and it just feels cheap imo. you should also probably stay away from the corsair boards. Welcome to geekhack btw!

Yeah me too. I started mech kb with Black Widow Ultimate. when i pressed space bar, C and V also got pressed down. So annoying. I had Corsair Vengeance K90 kb, i actually liked it. Solid build quality, looks cool too. but didn't like Cherry MX Red so sold it.

[Christown]

Yeah the Ducky is a good choice for a backlit keyboard.

[Lethal Squirrel]

The only reason I said stay away from the corsair boards, is because they aren't full mechanical. I can't really comment on the build quality, because I've never used one. I'm sure they're pretty good considering they're made pretty entirely of aluminum.

And for me, there is just something I can't stand about the blackwidows. It's the way they feel, sound, and look. I hate the keycaps, and the chunkiness of it. typing on them, even HEARING somebody typing on one, makes me cringe almost. It's almost like a "nails on a chalkboard" effect for me. I really don't know why.

The blackwidow was my first mech. I hated it so much I gave it away for free and bought a filco. Then I went as far as to give the person I gave it away to a free Rosewill because I couldn't stand letting him use the blackwidow xD
I know, I know, That's a bit extreme.